John Tyman's
Cultures in Context Series
NEPAL 
PART FOUR : LIFE ON THE PLAINS
Family Life on the Plains
609 - 645
www.johntyman/nepal
Click for full-size images
609. For those living on the land the pattern of daily life was similar in many ways to that in the hill country ... in a life-long struggle to feed and clothe one’s family. [Video Extract 19]
.
610. This was true even of those who still owned the land on which they worked, since most such properties were scarcely viable ... too small to satisfy the needs of those who worked them. Also, like farmers elsewhere, they were at the mercy of the environment.
.
611. Their buildings, unlike those in the hill country, were not built to last: but they nevertheless provided spaces for very similar functions. The verandah and adjacent courtyard were the setting for much on-farm processing. Corn was dried here and later shelled prior to storage.
.
612. Dhal was threshed here, and then winnowed prior to use.
.
613. Rice was polished using the same simple foot-powered mill as in Ramja Thanti.
.
614. And mats and screens were woven here using rice straw.
.
615. On the alluvial plains of the Terai most water for domestic use came from under the ground and was raised by a pump.
.
616. As in the hill country, this was not only their source of drinking water but also where people came to wash themselves and their laundry.
.
617. Transplanting rice seedlings is backbreaking work wherever it is done. 
.
618. But on the properties of large landowners their workers had to contend with fields far larger than any they had seen before. (Mustard in flower)
.
619. And instead of working with a small group of family members and friends on their own land, most of them were reduced to the status of farm labourers advancing in a long line across these large fields.
.
620. To transport the produce of their employers they still used oxen, but the quality of the carts which these pulled reflected the wealth of their owners.
.
621. And a few men now got to drive tractors -- sometimes on the roads but mostly in the fields.
.
622. In town, though, the life my friends lived in Bharatpur was significantly different from that which they led in Ramja Thanti.  [See Video Extract 20] The women still rose early, but they did not have to carry water.  The shopkeeper’s wife got up first, before the sun, to wash herself and her clothes at the pump. Minutes later she was followed by Bidhya. 
.
623. On three days each week they rose before 5.00 a.m. to begin their day’s worship at sacred sites some distance from home. On Saturdays they walked to the nearest chautara (rest station) to worship at a sacred pipal tree. On Mondays they walked to the local temple of Shiva, and on Tuesdays to the temple of the goddess Devi, Shiva’s consort in one of several forms. (Neighbourhood shrine)
.
624. Though women still visit shrines like this, few men do so today -- just as women outnumber men in most churches in Europe and North America.
.
625. When they returned home the women worshipped at their family’s shrine. Bidhya had two to choose from. One was outside near the pump, where there was a sandalwood tree in a pot (patronised on this day by a visiting priest).
.
626. Her other shrine, as usual, was indoors close to the fire (which is itself sacred). There was very little room here under the stairs.
.
627. But on top of her cupboard she had arranged the artifacts essential for daily worship -- pictures of gods, a source of light and heat, and puja dishes etc. 
.
628. When she had finished praying Bidhya would apply a vermillion tika to the foreheads of each of her sons.
.
629. They would then bow before her and touch her feet with their foreheads -- as expected of Brahman children. When she marks her daughter’s forehead, though, Bidhya bows before her instead. 
.
630. By 6.00 a.m. her friend’s shop will be open for business, and Bidhya will have swept out her house, washed down the yard, and cleaned the toilet. She will also wash out the shower recess, allowing the water used for this to drain to the vegetable  garden.  While these early morning chores in town mirrored those in Ramja Thanti,  she had no farm work to do afterwards ... just shopping later in the day.
.
631. On days when their mother does not leave home for early morning prayers the children get up at around 6.30 a.m., go to the toilet, wash, and have some sort of breakfast at 7.00 a.m. (On this day Bidhya was already working on a later meal.)
.
632. While their mother does the cooking and Gopal prepares for the day’s teaching, the children will finish off their homework and/or dress up and play. 
.
633. Both Binod and Gita attend private schools and must now wear uniforms.
.
634. They will be dressed by 8.45, have “lunch”, and leave for school at 9.15 a.m.  As their school is only 10 minutes walk away they will have time to play with friends before classes start at 10.00 a.m.
.
635. During the day Bidhya will work around home. There will be more laundry to do and she will also help keep the roadside clear of rubbish. [Video Extract 20]
.
636. She will be freed from any and all kitchen work, though, during the time each month when she is considered “impure” by reason of her menstruation. That’s when Gopal does the cooking.
.
637. While there were no farm animals to attend to, there was a small garden which had been neglected by previous occupants and was in urgent need of weeding. Here she planned to grow some basic vegetables.
.
638. However, for the bulk of the food which her family eats she will have to walk to the market in town, and buy items which at Ramja Thanti the family would have grown themselves -- for she had changed from a subsistence lifestyle to one dependent on trading. 
.
639. Bidhya has time now to attend the “Chitwan Women’s Self-Help Group” where for the first time in her life she is learning how to sew ...  having depended in the past on tailors from an occupational caste to sew the clothes her family needed.
.
640. Her youngest son, Bimal, did not yet attend school, so he came with her to classes, and watched his mother learn.
.
641. Having no farm chores to do after school, children here have more time for recreation. Girls help their mothers sometimes, but boys usually do nothing but play. [Video Extract 20]
.
642. With encouragement from parents, when they get home children may start on their homework, but with the benefit of electric lights here they can leave this till later.
.
643. Bidhya will have homework of her own to do ... practising the skills she acquired during the day.
.
644. The meals she cooks in town will be similar to those she prepared back in the village ... using rice, dhal and curried vegetables mostly (with meat only during religious festivals). And, as Brahman wives did in Ramja Thanti, she waited till the male members of her family had eaten before she had her food.
.
645. On weekends secondary school students may go to the movies, or join the crowd at a soccer game. Many children in Bharatpur also get to watch TV, but the set that Gopal was given was not then in working order. 
.

NEPAL CONTENTS


Text, photos and recordings by John Tyman
Intended for Educational Use Only.
Contact Dr. John Tyman at johntyman2@gmail.com
for more information regarding licensing.

www.hillmanweb.com
Photo processing, Web page layout, formatting and hosting by
William Hillman ~ Brandon, Manitoba ~ Canada

..